Case Study: Effectively Planning for an Enterprise-

Scale CMDB Implementation 

Antonio Rolle

VP of Professional Services

Objectives

• Review why a CMDB is essential to and is the foundation of your BSM strategy

• Outline the known challenges that require planning at the outset of a CMDB initiative

• Drill down into the approach and lessons learned in the initial stages of a CMDB rollout for one of the largest financial institutions in North America

Agenda

• Brief Review: The CMDB

• Known Pitfalls in CMDB Deployments

• Case Study: Leading Financial Services Enterprise

Brief Review: The CMDBBrief Review: The CMDB

The Configuration Management Database

(CMDB) is at the heart of aligning business with IT.

“

”

... (1.) Hold the (a.)relationships between all system components, including incidents, problems, known errors, changes and releases… (b.)information about incidents, known errors and problems, and corporate data about employees, locations and business units... often… (c.)details of services and to (2.) relate them to the underlying IT components…and (3.) store inventory details… such as suppliers, cost, purchase date, and renewal date for a license..

The CMDB should -

SOURCE: Office of Government Commerce

“

”

... (1.) Hold the (a.)relationships between all system components, including incidents, problems, known errors, changes and releases… (b.)information about incidents, known errors and problems, and corporate data about employees, locations and business units... often… (c.)details of services and to (2.) relate them to the underlying IT components…and (3.) store inventory details… such as suppliers, cost, purchase date, and renewal date for a license..

The CMDB should -

SOURCE: Office of Government Commerce

“

”

... (1.) Hold the (a.)relationships between all system components, including incidents, problems, known errors, changes and releases… (b.)information about incidents, known errors and problems, and corporate data about employees, locations and business units... often… (c.)details of services and to (2.) relate them to the underlying IT components…and (3.) store inventory details… such as suppliers, cost, purchase date, and renewal date for a license..

The CMDB should -

SOURCE: Office of Government Commerce

“

”

... (1.) Hold the (a.)relationships between all system components, including incidents, problems, known errors, changes and releases… (b.)information about incidents, known errors and problems, and corporate data about employees, locations and business units... often… (c.)details of services and to (2.) relate them to the underlying IT components…and (3.) store inventory details… such as suppliers, cost, purchase date, and renewal date for a license..

The CMDB should -

SOURCE: Office of Government Commerce

Why use a CMDB to do this?

1. Control

2. Integration

3. Decision Support

Reality Check

• External Factors are Driving our Clients to a CMDB-centric Service Management Architecture

– Software Providers Are Moving to a CMDB-centric Software Architecture- You Will Soon Have a CMDB Platform, probably more than 1

– IT “Supply Chain” Efficiency Requirements

• This is not a Process & Tool initiative, it’s an enterprise wide shift

Known Pitfalls in CMDB DeploymentsKnown Pitfalls in CMDB Deployments

“

”

Understanding the relationship between ITIL, IT asset

management, and CMDB management will help IT construct and align infrastructure services

to business needs.

Thomas Mendel, PhD - Forrester Research

5 Common Questions

• How wide and how deep should the CMDB be?

• How should I define a configuration item?

• How do I decide if I need to federate information?

• If I do federate, how do I integrate?

• What is the first step I need to take?

The Big Question

What level of effort and resources will be involved with implementing a CMDB in terms of:

People?

Processes?

Technology?

Common CMDB Implementation Pitfalls

• Unclear business focus• Unrealistic expectations• An all-or-nothing approach• Running the implementation as an IT project• Improper balance between strategic efforts and

short-term wins• Treating implementation as a one-time project• Lack of organizational commitment

Stages in the Building Process

1. Assemble the Project Team & Define the Project

2. Define Requirements & Create IT Service Model Blueprint

3. Select CMDB Solution and Tools

4. Construct & Maintain the CMDB

5. Drive Ongoing Value

Stages in the Building Process

1. Assemble the Project Team & Define the Project

2. Define Requirements & Create IT Service Model Blueprint

3. Select CMDB Solution and Tools

4. Construct & Maintain the CMDB

5. Drive Ongoing Value

Case Study: Leading Financial Services Enterprise

Case Study: Leading Financial Services Enterprise

Case Study• Company Profile:

– Fortune 100 Banking Institution– Over 20 million individual, business and institutional

clients served at more than 6,000 retail branches– Reported more than $440 billion in assets managed

and administered– 150,000+ employees

• Environment:– Remedy Asset Management v5.5– 13+ Remedy Developers– Over 20 Federated Data Sources

Stage 1: Assemble the Project Team & Define the Project

• Create Project Executive Board• Select Project Manager• Scope Key Activities• Select Project Team• Finalize Project Plan

Stage 3: Select CMDB Solution and Tools

• Select CMDB Solution• Plan the CMDB Population• Select Tools to Automate CMDB

Solution• Calculate Project ROI

Stage 3: Select CMDB Solution and Tools

• Select CMDB Solution• Plan the CMDB Population• Select Tools to Automate

CMDB Population• Calculate Project ROI

Stage 1: Assemble the Project Team & Re-Define the Project

• Create Project Executive Board• Select Project Manager• Scope Key Activities• Select Project Team• Finalize Project Plan

Our clients like to bring us in as a

neutral party when projects

cross functional lines

Defining the Activities is Easy…

… Building the timelines is a different challenge.

– You have to get fairly deep, both functionally and technically to accurately establish timelines: build in plenty of time to deal with unknowns

– Don’t underestimate how badly your timelines can get hosed if you don’t closely gauge (and manage) personnel availability

Role from Organization Avail.

Executive Sponsor 10%

Configuration Management Process Owner 80%

Asset Management Process Owner 80%

Other Process Owners( > CMM Lvl 2)(each) 40%

Software Librarian 60%

Software Licensing Manager 40%

Configuration Managers 15%

Program Manager 80%

Asset and Configuration Reports Subject Matter Expert

70%

Federated Systems Subject Matter Expert (ea) 20%

Other extended team members may include HR, Audit, Accounting and select customers.

5%

Internal Resources

Your stakeholder list will be larger than you thought possible(!)

Obtaining the Information you need and the consensus required is half the battle

External Resources

Role from generationE Technologies

Availability

Project Manager/Managing Consultant 100%

ITIL Process Advisor 80%

Process Engineer/Technical writer 50%

Sr. Configuration Management Consultant

100%

Sr. Asset Management Consultant 100%

AR System Consultant 60%

Consider bringing in a firm to partner with you if…

1) You can’t dedicate the right resources to the project

2) You think an outside party might be able to navigate the functional areas more effectively

Stage 2: Defining CMDB Requirements

1. Identify & Review Governance Requirements

2. Review and Select Supporting Best Practices

3. Identify Requirements to Address Potential Problems

4. Identify Inventory & Asset Management Requirements

5. Define Service Catalog Requirements

6. Define CMDB Requirements to Support Other Processes

7. Define CI Level & IT Service Model

8. Define CI Relationships

9. Define CI Attributes

10.Design IT Service Model Blueprint

Identify & Review Governance Requirements

• Identify Key Governance & Regulatory Stakeholders (SOx, Gramm-Leach-Bliley, FFIEC, Internal/External Auditors)

• Scope Potential Use of a CMDB (Identify CI’s, Relationships, Fixed Asset Register)

• Collect and Document Requirements• Get Approvals

Review and Select Supporting Best Practices

• Research Relevant Best Practice Frameworks

• Select Appropriate Best Practice Frameworks

• Document Best Practices• Check Current Levels of Adherence• Publish and Distribute Best Practices

Identify Requirements to Address Potential Problems

• Review Knowledge Sources• Document Potential Problems• Identify Root Causes• Identify Potential Solutions• Document Project Requirements

Identify Inventory & Asset Management Requirements

• Determine Asset Definition• List Asset Categories• Identify Owners of Listed Assets• Identify Data Inventory Data

Requirements• Identify Asset Data Requirements• Compile Inventory Asset Requirements

Drill Down - Inventory and Asset

• This project was driven by the Asset Management process area with a focus on:– Identification– Control– Verification & Audit

Define Service Catalog Requirements

• Identify Key Service Catalog Stakeholders

• Scope Service Catalog CMDB Use• Collect & Document Requirements• Publish Approved CMDB Requirements

Define Service Catalog Requirements

• Identify Key Service Catalog Stakeholders

• Scope Service Catalog CMDB Use• Collect & Document Requirements• Publish Approved CMDB Requirements

Define CMDB Requirements to Support Other Processes

• Identify Stakeholders• Discover & Distill Requirements to

Support Other Processes• Review and Agree on CMDB

Requirements to Support Other Processes

• Publish CMDB Requirements

Drill Down - Process Integration

• Incident & Problem Management• Change Management• Asset Management• Service Continuity Management• 20 Federated Data Sources

Define CI Level & IT Service Model

• Establish Working Group• Create A Straw Model Structure• Validate Straw Model Structure• Document the Structure, Guidelines

& Criteria

BMC Atrium CMDB 2.0- Common Data Model

Define CI Relationships

• Define CI Relationship Types• Review & Agree• Document Relationship Design

Define CI Attributes

• Consider Management & Maintenance• Review• Document

Design IT Service Model Blueprint

• Document & Validate Blueprint• Define Governance, Roles &

Procedures• Review• Publish

Stage 3: Select CMDB Solution and Tools

• Select CMDB Solution• Plan the CMDB Population• Select Tools to Automate CMDB

Population• Calculate Project ROI

Stages in the Building Process

1. Assemble the Project Team & Define the Project

2. Define Requirements & Create IT Service Model Blueprint

3. Select CMDB Solution and Tools

4. Construct & Maintain the CMDB

5. Drive Ongoing Value

Task Description Calendar Days

0 Project Redefinition 4 months

1 Assemble the Project Team & Define the Project

3 weeks

2 Define Requirements & Create IT Service Model Blueprint

3 months

3 Select CMDB Solution and Tools TBD

4 Construct & Maintain the CMDB TBD

5 Drive Ongoing Value TBD

Timeline

Lessons Learned

• Internal & External Perspectivesare Required for Success

• Large Organizations Are Slow to Adopt Change

• Project Team Knowledge of ITIL Required• Continued Sponsor Engagement is Critical

Next Steps

• Identify Change Agents, Advocates, Sponsor and potential project team.

• Identify risks and mitigation plans.• Register as a project.• Draft CMDB goals/objectives and link

to organizational goals.• Evaluate process maturity to determine

which processes would be affected.• Finalize the Service Catalog, formally or informally.• Read Malcolm Fry’s book, “Step-by-Step Guide to

Building a CMDB”…and other resources.

Discussion

Antonio Rolle

antonio.rolle@generationetech.com

http://www.generationETech.com